<p>A journalist of Odisha’s Kalahandi district was on Saturday killed in an IED blast by suspected Maoist ultras targeting security personnel, a police officer said.</p>.<p>The Improvised Explosive Device (IED) went off when Rohit Kumar Biswal, a reporter cum photographer of a leading Odia daily published from Bhubaneswar, reached near a tree where a couple of posters and a banner were put up by Maoists asking people to boycott the five-phase panchayat polls beginning later this month.</p>.<p>“Whenever such posters are seen, the police have an SOP (standard operating procedure) to deal with the situation as there is a possibility that IEDs have been planted there targeting security forces. Our team was alerted but before we reached the spot, the unfortunate incident happened,” Kalahandi district SP Dr Vivek M said.</p>.<p><strong>Read: <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/east-and-northeast/maoists-blow-up-rs-13-crore-bridge-in-jharkhand-1073888.html" target="_blank">Maoists blow up Rs 13-crore bridge in Jharkhand</a></strong></p>.<p>The 46-year-old reporter reached near the tree before police personnel searched the area with a metal detector for planted IEDs and died on the spot after the explosion, he said.</p>.<p>The posters were pasted on the tree while the banner was hung close to it near Domkarlakhunta village and close to a bridge in Madanpur Rampur block. The police found no more IEDs on the spot.</p>.<p>A joint team of CRPF and police have begun a probe, sources said.</p>.<p>The slain journalist is survived by his wife, a son and a daughter.</p>.<p>Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announced Rs 13 lakh as ex-gratia for his family. While the Odisha Police will provide Rs 9 lakh, the remaining Rs 4 lakh will be given from the Journalist Welfare Fund, said Manas Mangaraj, the media advisor to the state government.</p>.<p>Odisha Union of Journalist President Prasanna Mohanty condemned the incident and demanded adequate compensation to Biswal’s family.</p>.<p>The organisation also sought proper security for scribes working in the Left Wing Extremism dominated districts.</p>.<p><strong>Watch the latest DH Videos here:</strong></p>
<p>A journalist of Odisha’s Kalahandi district was on Saturday killed in an IED blast by suspected Maoist ultras targeting security personnel, a police officer said.</p>.<p>The Improvised Explosive Device (IED) went off when Rohit Kumar Biswal, a reporter cum photographer of a leading Odia daily published from Bhubaneswar, reached near a tree where a couple of posters and a banner were put up by Maoists asking people to boycott the five-phase panchayat polls beginning later this month.</p>.<p>“Whenever such posters are seen, the police have an SOP (standard operating procedure) to deal with the situation as there is a possibility that IEDs have been planted there targeting security forces. Our team was alerted but before we reached the spot, the unfortunate incident happened,” Kalahandi district SP Dr Vivek M said.</p>.<p><strong>Read: <a href="https://www.deccanherald.com/national/east-and-northeast/maoists-blow-up-rs-13-crore-bridge-in-jharkhand-1073888.html" target="_blank">Maoists blow up Rs 13-crore bridge in Jharkhand</a></strong></p>.<p>The 46-year-old reporter reached near the tree before police personnel searched the area with a metal detector for planted IEDs and died on the spot after the explosion, he said.</p>.<p>The posters were pasted on the tree while the banner was hung close to it near Domkarlakhunta village and close to a bridge in Madanpur Rampur block. The police found no more IEDs on the spot.</p>.<p>A joint team of CRPF and police have begun a probe, sources said.</p>.<p>The slain journalist is survived by his wife, a son and a daughter.</p>.<p>Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik announced Rs 13 lakh as ex-gratia for his family. While the Odisha Police will provide Rs 9 lakh, the remaining Rs 4 lakh will be given from the Journalist Welfare Fund, said Manas Mangaraj, the media advisor to the state government.</p>.<p>Odisha Union of Journalist President Prasanna Mohanty condemned the incident and demanded adequate compensation to Biswal’s family.</p>.<p>The organisation also sought proper security for scribes working in the Left Wing Extremism dominated districts.</p>.<p><strong>Watch the latest DH Videos here:</strong></p>